Whether you’re in the Bay Area or Southern California, you really do have incredible ski options believe it or not.  With all the snow we’ve recently received, skiing anywhere in California will be fantastic. From San Francisco and its surroundings, it’s about a 3 and a half hour drive to Tahoe.  As for S. Cal, you’ve got options depending on how much driving you want to do.  Big Bear I would say is the main option that folks take for skiing “close by”. It’s a 2 and a half to 3 hour drive.  The other ski option would be Mammoth.  It will depend on how much time you want to spend in your car and where you’re starting from.

I can testify to the Tahoe area and to Big Bear.  I will say I’ve heard really great things about Mammoth, but the issue my friends and I always had was getting there.  Keeping it real, we were lazy and simply didn’t want to drive.

Ski Option for the Bay Area

Tahoe is beautiful, whether you’re there with snow or not.  If you’re able, try and get there to experience both.  Tahoe hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics and some of the sites, while renamed, are still there.  The Olympic Valley at Palisades Tahoe, which back then was called Squaw Valley, is a good sized resort.  What I didn’t realize was that a lot of the Olympic events took place on the West shore of the lake.  The Olympic Valley is on the north side.  As for ski resorts, take your pick…my past includes Northstar, Heavenly and Palisades (past name Squaw).  Here’s a link for the resorts…

Ski Option for Los Angeles

Big Bear was our go-to for skiing near home.  Both with friends when we had vacations and one or two high school trips.  Snow Summit and Bear Mountain were the main resorts we used when we were there and they still have runs you can visit when mother nature is acting right.  With the February we just had, they’ll probably have snow until June!! Can you imagine!? 2023 is a wacky weather year…for future make sure you check Big Bear’s snow levels before heading up there and dropping some coins.

Ski Option for Los Angeles and San Diego

The third ski option to share is Mammoth Mountain. It’s about a 5 hour drive northeast from Los Angeles and about 5 and a half hours from San Francisco.  I’ve heard mixed reviews about Mammoth, so check the website and see if they have the kinds of runs for your skill level and if the prices will work.

No matter where you are, Bay Area or Los Angeles, there are great ski options to take advantage of.  With the big snow dump we’ve had, also check the road conditions to make sure you can get to the slopes. Again, enjoy everything California has to offer.  Until next time…

May the road rise to meet you and the wind be at your back.